Rocky II

Immediately after Rocky's close contest with Apollo Creed, he is drawn into fame only to find it is a temporary thing. As the money fades he finds personal crisis is never far away and is tempted into a big money rematch against Creed. Meanwhile Creed, who should fight other fighters, is plagued by suggestions that the first fight was staged to go the distance. Things build to the rematch.

Stallone proves that he has got a money making brain in his head by basically remaking Rocky. The story covers similar themes – it's a soap opera with a fight at the end. Here the soapy mush is mostly about his loss of money and decline back into the gutter, while we have children and comas thrown in for good measure. This is all well and good, and Stallone doesn't let it get too mushy. The script has some good scenes and mixes in comedy – my favourtie line being where Rocky is advised to invest his money in condominiums, to which Rocky replies `condominiums? But I don't use them.'

This comedy helps endear Rocky to us despite being a bit `punchy'. The fight however – that's where the money is. As in the first Rocky movie, the fight is a huge thing, full of emotion and welling music. The fighting is, of course, nonsense – even sillier than the first film, but with the raw emotion and use of music you can't help but get involved – even if you don't want to! At times it goes a bit far and may look a bit like ego-massaging by Stallone, eg the scene where he is out on his training run and is followed by hundreds of supportive children!

Stallone is good in all his roles, the playing of Rocky as a working class bum made good is bang on. Shire doesn't have much to do but she's good beside Stallone. Young is good and Meredith easily repeats his tour-de-force as the grizzled trainer. Carl Weathers is good as Apollo Creed and this is one of his best roles.

Overall this isn't a classic but by repeating the basic formula of the first movie and taking Rocky back to the gutter, this remains an entertaining soap that is driven by mushy, if formulaic, emotion.

Officially a sequel is most a rehash but happens to be a nice second chapter about Rocky saga with intimate Stallone . Two-bit fighter Rocky now retired lives from records but our hero returns to face off a daring Apollo . Although he is homaged as one of the greatest boxing champions in the history also is panned as a down-and-out fighter , being nicknamed as the Chicken Stallion . But Rocky comes out from retirement for fame and self-respect to combat strongest, youngest and faster contender , again champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers)through a rematch. Apollo after being dethroned by obnoxious Rocky seeks vendetta . While Rocky attempts to prove himself and his family , his wife (Talia Shire), brother-in-law (Burt Young) and his recent born son. Then he's trained again by the veteran , feisty coach (Burguess Meredith who repeats efficiently his series role).

This agreeable predictable entertainment displays splendidly the 'formula Rocky'. The movie works at usual manner, fitting appropriately to franchise , even though we know the plot the film works . This soaper on the ring is developed in gentleness, dignity , feel-good style such as the initial outing. Spectacular and climatic final bout including slow-moving images. Writer-director-actor Stallone new entry is surprisingly entertaining and packs good feeling. Usual and nostalgic musical score by Bill Conti and atmospheric cinematography Bill Butler. The motion picture is lavishly financed by the producers complete saga, Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and well directed by Stallone who along with John G Avildsen made the six Rocky.

While here the opponent is an invincible young boxer,champ of the world, in subsequent entries the contenders were the following : Rocky III against corpulent Mr T from A Team; Rocky IV against a massive Russian boxer played by Dolph Lundgren; and Rock 5 against an ingrate young fighter who he trained played by Tommy Morrison and Rocky Balboa proving his estranged young son Milo Ventiglimia who still can fight. Rating : Good , being impossible to dislike ,the result is deliciously corny agreeable and predictable amusement . Although we've seen it all before , Sylvester manages to make it work one more time and it works every way even better than subsequents Rockys.

Sure, Apollo was pointlessly painted as the bad guy early in the film, but this a sequel. While it is not as good as the first film, it still embodies many of the themes and hopes which made the first film so powerful. This time, the audience got what it wanted, a win for a guy who had been kicked down for so long. With more money, the film felt more lucid and better put together, which made it a whole new experience in itself. I especially enjoyed the scene where the kids are chasing Rocky, certainly one of the most complicated and time consuming shots of all time, considering all of the extras the various sequences needed. Better than an average sequel, it still pales a shade below the original film.

Three years after the Academy Award winning success of Rocky, Sylvester Stallone reprises his role as the heavyweight boxer in Rocky II, which he writes and directs this time around. Picking up right where the first film left off, Rocky II follows Rocky Balboa as he starts to adapt to family life after barely losing his match to Apollo Creed and then marrying his girlfriend Adrian. However, the adjustment to this new, much softer and simpler life isn't easy, especially while Apollo Creed continually harasses Rocky for a rematch, as he is hungry for the knockout, rather than just the winning score. Rocky must then make a choice, does he stay retired from boxing, or does he train to take on Apollo Creed once more? Rocky II, despite what die hard fans of the first film might say, is actually pretty good. It doesn't have the raw visceral emotion behind it that fueled the fire for the original but, as far as sequels go, it's really a decent film. It works really well as a continuation of Rocky's story, and it makes for a worthwhile addition to the first film. It's a lot of fun to see Stallone and Weathers reprise their roles as Rocky and Apollo, and getting an extra dosage of some great boxing is really exciting. Rocky II, while devoid of the visceral poetry of the first film, is pretty darn good.

It's not without a few problems of course. It's a much more watered down and predictable story than what we received in the first film. From the beginning we can see where the story is going and, while entertaining, it's not surprising and lacks the wow factor of the first film. The character of Rocky also changes a bit. He becomes softer in this film, and at times a caricature of the fabulous underdog protagonist Stallone established him as in the first film. He's a little goofy at times, and not as enjoyable as a character as he was in the first film. It's still great to see him get back in the ring, but it's not quite the same as the original.

But despite no wonder and power in the story, it's still really fun and Rocky II is plenty enjoyable to watch. If you liked the first film then I would definitely recommend watching the sequel, as it's just more great Rocky Balboa action, and a pleasant continuation of the story. It's not as fantastic as the first film, but worth two hours of your time.

"Rocky" is truly one of the greatest films ever made. So a sequel to this film would have a tough time following it. Rocky 2 does a great job following up "Rocky" and is truly a great film.

The story starts up right where "Rocky" left off. Rocky goes to the hospital and has surgery and it is revealed that further fighting could damage his eye badly and make him go blind possibly. So Rocky settles down, marries Adrian and starts making commercials. Soon Adrian gets pregnant. However soon his ability to not read well costs him his job making commercials and Rocky struggles to find another job. Elsewhere Apollo Creed is furious that so many people are criticizing him for going 15 rounds with a guy who came off that street. So Apollo wants a rematch. Rocky decides that he must fight again, which upsets Adrian due to the health risks he may face.

This film succeeds mainly due to the fact that it does a great job continuing the Rocky saga. It starts right up after "Rocky" and further continues the story. It is an awesome follow up. All of the characters are further developed. Apollo Creed is shown more and his character is expanded the most and you get to see what he is like more. Carl Weathers does a great job with Creed in this episode and really plays the upset athlete at the media well. Paulie takes a back seat in this film for the most part but Adrian is very significant in this film as she is the main reason why Rocky is so reluctant to get back in the ring.

Rocky 2 is really funny, more so than the first one. Love how Rocky goes around trying to get a job despite the fact that he has basically no education. Also humorous is how bad Rocky is at reading cue cards and what he chooses to talk about at his press conference with Apollo. For the most part Rocky and Rocky 2 are more funny than the next films mainly because of how Rocky becomes "civilized" in "Rocky 3" and loses his sense of humor in some ways.

The training that ROcky does in this film is epic. Love the training that he goes through in this film, slamming metal, chasing chickens, and hopping around with lumber on his shoulders. Rocky really works hard training in this film, my personal favorite of his films in how he trains.

No film is perfect though. The "Gonna FLy Now" song is not the same as it is in the first film. It is not sung by the same people who sang it is the first film so it is not nearly as good. However this song is only used when Rocky is running, not when he is doing his other training. They use the "Going the Distance" song when he is doing his training outside of his running which is fine.

Also the fight at the end of the film is not nearly as good as the fight in the first film. It is mainly just Rocky getting pounded relentlessly and having to overcome a superior athlete. Not like in the first film where it is an even fight for the most part.

A great sequel that is funny, further expands the story and characters, and has some really great and memorable moments. A must see and easily the second best film of the series.